Michael Sweet wants Stryper to record three albums’ worth of music in one go next year, so that the band’s catalogue is finished while everyone in it is still able to make it.
Stryper‘s 18th studio album, Throne Of Thorns, arrives on Friday, Sep 25, through Frontiers Music Srl. Speaking to “Lots Of Muzik“, Sweet said the band are aiming to be back in the studio by January.
“Yeah, that’s what we’re talking about doing. We’re trying to work out all the details right now. But if it works out, we’re gonna go in the studio in January and track three albums’ worth of music. So the reason being is to reach that 21-album goal. This one’s number 18, so three more would be 21,” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
He said the idea came from thinking about how long the band can keep going at their current level, and pointed to his own health and that of guitarist Oz Fox.
“I suggested to the label, like, ‘Get us while you can.’ Get us at this stage of our lives while we can still perform at this level, because in a year or two or four, we might not be able to — Oz or me,” he continued. “I don’t know. It’s possible. For example, if I have to have another surgery, the doctor said it’s more high risk, in terms of damage to the vocal cords, my vocal folds. So, there’s always the what-ifs. If I have to have that and I can’t sing or whatever — I mean, granted, I put my faith in God, but things happen. That’s reality. So I suggested this to the label, and they didn’t know what to think at first. They were a little thrown off by it and thought, ‘Well, okay, this is interesting. Wow.’ And then by the end of the meeting, they really liked the idea. They thought it was a great idea, and I do too. I think more bands might wanna take note and try it as well.”
The albums would not be released together. Sweet said they would follow the usual pace, with the first arriving about two years after Throne Of Thorns.
“Yeah, in a span [of several years], like they normally are,” he added. So if we record albums next year, the first album will come out the following year, two years from this album roughly. And the next album a few years after that, and the next album a few years after that. But they would be done, and we wouldn’t be concerned about, in four years or five years, if Oz can play or if I can sing or if Perry [Richardson] is gonna retire or if Robert [Sweet]… You know what I mean? All these things.”
Sweet was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, the most common form of the disease, in the autumn of 2023, and had surgery that December to remove part of his thyroid. Throne Of Thorns includes “I’m Alright (I’m Okay)“, a song he wrote about the diagnosis.
Fox does not play on the new album. Sweet recorded every guitar part himself, a first for the band. He has said Fox was unable to take part because of problems with his blood pressure that affected his pitch and hearing, and that it was unrelated to the brain surgery Fox underwent in 2024. Fox has since been touring with the band and is expected to play a few of the new songs live.
Stryper are Michael Sweet, his brother Robert Sweet on drums, Fox on guitar and Perry Richardson on bass. The band released their first Christmas album, The Greatest Gift Of All, in November 2025.
Sweet‘s solo record The Master Plan followed in April this year on the same label.
